2008 - Hanoi

Despite a bit of rain in the morning of my first day in Hanoi, I was able to walk around the Old Quarter at leisure and take it all in. I really liked Hanoi, as I did Sa Pa and Ha Long Bay. I think I really like Vietnam, but it's hard to put a finger on exactly why. The food is beautiful, and you don't need to go to Tommy Chin's and pay a fortune for it. Like most of Asia, there is just so much to sit and watch if you want to. You really don't need to go anywhere to see things. One strong memory was the 6 or 7am announcements piped into the streets each morning. They also occured in the afternoons. My hotel room was right next to a speaker, so I couldn't sleep in. The content included, I believe, the news followed by reminders to residents of important things like "no house cleaning to be performed on Sundays", and that "family planning is an important responsibility". If only I understood Vietnamese to be able to confirm these explanations.